The invention relates to buckle fasteners, preferably a metal buckle fastener, for fastening opposing ends of a strap to form an object encircling and securing strap fastener. Metal fasteners, as opposed to fasteners made of other materials such as thermoplastic, are characterized by the possession of many desirable properties such as high tensile strength, high and low temperature resistance, abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance, and radiation resistance. A variety of buckle fasteners for metal straps are known, of which U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,817 assigned to Panduit Corp. is an example. U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,817 is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
While known buckles of this type provide desirable characteristics for certain applications, they still have many drawbacks and are capable of improvement.